A group of 29 Kenyans has arrived in the country from Lebanon, the State Department for Diaspora Affairs has announced.
A multi-agency team led by senior leadership from the department received the Kenyans at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Nairobi.
“The evacuees in a first-contact counselling session with officials from the counselling unit of the State Department for Diaspora Affairs shared their experiences before and during the conflict currently ongoing in the region,” a statement from the department said.
The department said more Kenyans evacuated from Lebanon are expected in the coming days.
The government, through the State Department for Diaspora Affairs and other relevant stakeholders, has started the evacuation of Kenyans from Lebanon.
On Thursday, the Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs said the government is exploring all options to ensure Kenyans in Lebanon are evacuated safely back home.
More than 7,000 Kenyans are stranded in Lebanon as hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah escalate, causing an unprecedented humanitarian crisis.
Mudavadi noted that out of the estimated 26,000 Kenyans in Lebanon, only 7,119 have registered to be evacuated.
"Initially the registration was slow, but we have seen an increase in the numbers, and we expect that they will rise even further," said Mudavadi when he appeared before the National Assembly Departmental Committee on Defense Intelligence and Foreign Relations.
"We are experiencing lots of challenges because of the war, so they are coming in batches of five or seven depending on the availability of flight space," he said.
The Prime Cabinet Secretary told the committee that the evacuation process has been slow and cumbersome due to stringent clearance requirements from the Lebanese authorities and limited flight options, with only one airline currently operating flights into Beirut.
“To expedite this process, a multi-agency team from Kenya joined by officials from our Embassy in Kuwait has been dispatched to assist the Honorary Consul to coordinate the activities,” he said.